Everybody like grilling in all over the world, but the Hungarians like standing around a cauldron for hours better. Why? I tell you. (Painting: Bogrács by Mihály Munkácsy, 1864; reproduction: Wikipedia)

Have you ever felt nostalgic for a funny, soggy dish? Hungarians have. I tell you the story of the meat with egg barley and I cook it for you. (On the picture: herders are cooking in their cauldron on the Hungarian Lowlands in 1942. Photograph: fortepan.hu)